Has GPRA Increased the Availability and Use of Performance Information?

Abstract

The underlying logic of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) suggests that programs should be evaluated based on empirical evidence that they actually produce the intended outcomes. This study applies the same logic to GPRA itself, investigating empirically whether GPRA may have increased the availability and use of performance information in federal agencies. Better GPRA performance reporting is correlated with greater availability and use of several kinds of performance information by federal managers in the programs and operations they supervise. The results are statistically significant and relatively large. Correlations are especially significant for types of activities GPRA sought to encourage, such as output and outcome measures and use of performance information to allocate resources, set priorities, and develop measures and goals. These findings are consistent with the theory that GPRA has indeed prompted improvements in the availability and use of performance information in the federal government. Leadership commitment to achieving results also has a big effect on the availability and use of performance information. Leaders respond to institutional constraints and incentives, but they have leeway to pursue performance management more or less aggressively. Program types have a small effect on the availability and use of performance information; agency ideology has a similarly small effect. A more focused mission has a moderately large and positive effect. Congressional interest in using performance information can spur agencies to develop and use performance measures.